Former model Kathryn Mayorga filed a lawsuit in a state court last year, accusing football star Cristiano Ronaldo of taking advantage of her sexually at a night out in Las Vegas. After much debate and the news eventually dying down, Ronaldo’s representatives have now admitted that the captain of the Portugal team paid Mayorga a whopping $375,000 (around ₹2.7 crore) to convince her to stay mum.

What happened between Kathryn and Cristiano?

Ten years ago, Kathryn met Cristiano at a nightclub in Las Vegas, where the two hit it off and indulged in some close dancing. While Ronaldo was there on vacation with his brother-in-law and cousin, then 25-year-old Kathryn, was a budding model whose job was to hang out with other ‘young and beautiful’ women in front of bars in order to lure guests into the club.

On a Friday night in June 2009, Kathryn happened to spend some time with the multimillionaire in the VIP section of Rain, a nightclub belonging to Palms Casino Resort, with the party moving to Ronaldo’s penthouse up until the wee hours of the morning. Whatever happened between him and her that night was a secret only the both of them knew and kept.

Cristiano pays Kathryn to stay quiet

According to reports, after news about the “mystery woman” with Cristiano surfaced online, and reports about Kathryn alleging that the footballer assaulted her began to spread, in an attempt to ensure confidentiality of the matter, the footballer paid Kathryn a large sum of money and made her sign a settlement deal. By accepting it, Kathryn had sworn to secrecy, agreeing to never give voice to any of the accusations doing the rounds.

Only last year did she decide to break her silence. Speaking to a tabloid in the West, Kathryn said: “I did it out of fear for myself and my family. Out of impotence and the inability to stand up to him.” However, even though it took her a good while, Kathryn finally realised that she could never get closure on this until she spoke her truth. In interviews, she even claimed to have had “several breakdowns” post the incident.

In 2018, after Kathryn filed the lawsuit, her lawyer revealed that “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries.”

Cristiano previously denied all claims of rape or a settlement

Right from the get-go, Cristiano denied all claims, saying that the ‘sex was consensual’, and that there was no hard proof to support Kathryn’s allegations. The case was dismissed in a Nevada court in June, though there was no revelation on whether Ronaldo agreed to any settlement. Speaking to the media, he said: “When people question your honor, it hurts. Especially because I have a family--a wife, and an intelligent child, who understands a lot of things. This is a case I’m not comfortable expressing myself on. But once again, my innocence has been proven.”

The truth comes through

For the first time in all these years, in a motion filed by Cristiano’s lawyers on Friday, they’ve acknowledged the settlement between Kathryn and him. The footballer is arguing that Nevada’s statute of limitations and the signed confidentiality agreement should annul her claims, given that she was unable to produce proof to support any.

Is the former Real Madrid player and current Juventus forward just another privileged personality, using his stardom to thwart legal processes? While this may seem debatable to loyal fans, it’s hard to ignore the fact that these actions shatter the myth that women accuse men for monetary gains. Despite the large payout and the intimidation tactic of legally gagging her, Kathryn came out with her story to set the record straight.

This goes on to show that money can only delay the truth from coming out, it can never quash it. What do you think?